As Vincent would say in Pulp Fiction: “It’s the little differences…”. Indeed, it is the hints of an accent, a usage that is off, like using a British term in the USA, the wrong preposition, not quite the right term; it is the little things, which unveil your non-native state.Lire la suite →

Our Valentine’s day topic… continued. Why? Because in French, we love l’amour of course! It really is the most important topic of our literature (from “Madame Bovary” to “Les fleurs du mal”), music, and cinematography. This makes it really hard if you are single and strolling through the streets of Paris… love is in the air, especially this week! Lire la suite →

If you ever go to a USC (that is University of South Carolina) football game, you will find yourself screaming « Go cocks! »… Very strange at first! We brought my French sister and brother-in-law to a game a couple of years ago, and we could not stop laughing because the other side of the stadium was prompted to scream « Game », and our side had to scream « Cocks »… this lasted a whole game. So we translated with the alternative meaning of cock=rooster (so right, the other meaning…), and in French, that is: « Allez les bites! » (We wanted to text it to the big board but it did not work… I wish! I would have taken a picture!). Lire la suite →

WordPress:

After a good, intense, cardio-step workout, the rant is over and it is time to focus back on the positive… Are you with me?

I am an optimist, always have been. And when I deal with a tough situation or face hardships and challenges, I first let the negative out (whether it is a good scream, cry, kick, workout or knockout – nobody is injured though, I promise). Then, once I am calmed down, I go into a meditative mode and I pray, sing, count my blessings. And when I do, I realize that I have a wonderful life!

Today’s word is intelligent, only in the sense that if you use this term in speaking French, you demonstrate a higher command of the language, a more advanced level. It is not pompous either, so go ahead, use it!

Just like its meaning, today’s word is quite cute-sounding. You know it well as it is commonly used in English when talking about the famous steak… But I want to teach you to pronounce it « à la française » today:

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[tweetmeme source= »FrenchNad » only_single=false] For all my multilingual readers, I wanted to clarify that this word does not have the same meaning as in Spanish (« embarazada ») which means « pregnant »… Rather, the English meaning comes from French:

Important: To say « embarrassed by » (in the sense of the emotion, rather than physically being burdened by), note that you will use « par » when followed by a noun, and « pour » when followed by a verb. See below.

Usage:

Je suis embarrassé par mon niveau d’espagnol. // I am embarrassed by my level of Spanish.être bien embarrassé pour répondre // to be at a loss for an answerPour son voyage en Espagne, Sophie était embarrasséed’une grosse valise. // For her trip to Spain, Sophie was weighed down with a large suitcase.En tant qu’Américain, Peter était embarrassépour porter un slip de bain à la plage de Saint-Tropez. // As an American, Peter was embarrassed to wear a Speedo at the Saint-Tropez beach.Cette armoire m’embarrasse plutôt qu’autre chose. // This wardrobe is more of a nuisance than anything else.

BONUS: Hmmh… type « embarrasse » in youtube.com and you get quite a few results for « France is embarrassed by Carla Bruni », the First Lady with an interesting modeling career and previous TV appearances… Je n’en dis pas plus!